13, 2010, employees and political leaders at the opening ceremony for a lithium ion battery plant near Detroit patched in a special speaker.

On the phone was President Barack Obama, who touted the federal Recovery Act grant of $249.1 million that helped build the A123 Systems plant. He told the crowd that the plant represented "the birth of an entire new industry in America -- an industry that's going to be central to the next generation of cars."

"You guys are making us proud," Obama added. "The work you're doing will help power the American economy for years to come."

Little more than two years later, A123 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The move added to a chain of dismal news among battery makers that hoped to supply a booming market for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

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So maybe people that think the government should not be pushing "green" so hard realize that having the government select which technologies are funded isn't the best idea. The current tax incentives for electrics are more than generous.

No they haven't. Mainstream production electric cars disappeared for almost 80 years and the funny thing is, it is partially because of the advent of the electric starter. Besides this is not just about EVs, it is about a battery maker.

Government funding is necessary for the development of the new technologies. The government has determined that importing oil for transportation exposes the United States to security risks (IE: the threat of being cut off & those posed by global climate change), so it is funding the development of technologies that don't have to be extracted from the Middle East, and emit less carbon.

You can thank Uncle Sam for LEDs, HUDs, and a lot of other technology found in modern cars.

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